Area Briefs

January 25, 2007|STAFF REPORT

NILESEmployee burned at paint coating firm An employee of a paint coating company was airlifted to a hospital with serious burns after a small fire broke out at the business about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said. The fire at Niles Chemical Paint Coatings Inc., 225 Fort St., was contained to a piece of machinery, said Don Hughes of the Niles Fire Department. Authorities did not release the name of the man or his condition late Wednesday night. The victim was transported to Lakeland Hospital in Niles before being airlifted to the Fort Wayne Regional Burn Unit. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Hughes said. A sprinkler system was able to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived. "(The company) has had a safe record since I've been around them," Hughes said. "Anytime something like this happens it's tragic, because it doesn't happen very often."